Page 29 of The Raven and the Rose
“You cannot disgrace another, only yourself,” he said with a twinkling eye.
The first toast was to the King; the second was from the King to the bride; the third was from the groomsman to the groom; and the fourth was from the bride to her parents. The fifth was from the groom to his bride:
If all your beauties one by one
I toast, then I am thinking
Before the tale were well begun
I would be dead of drinking.
The onlookers banged their goblets on the trestle tables in appreciation of the groom’s wit. Roseanna would not be outdone. She replied to her husband’s toast,
Here’s to you, as good as you are
And here’s to me, as bad as I am.
As bad as I am, as good as you are,
I’m as good as you are, bad as I am.
Ned winked at Roger and raised his goblet. “She’s right, you know!”
Roger and Roseanna shared one platter, as was custom. He took all the choicest pieces and placed them on her side. She knew it would be petty to refuse, but the next time a fresh dish was placed before her, she took a choice cut and placed it on his side of the platter. Nothing could show him more plainly that she meant to start out on an even footing. It did not annoy him; it amused him. He picked up the food she had selected for him and ate it with gusto.
Ale, mead, and malmsey were flowing; the crowd of guests lost all semblance of decorum as they indulged freely. Roseanna saw Rebecca arise from the table looking paler than death. Feeling protective of her, Roseanna arose and walked with her. “I’ll come with you to the garderobe before the dancing begins.”
Roseanna became very concerned when she heard Rebecca vomit down the jakes. “Oh, Rebecca love, you are ill. I’m afraid it’s all been too much for you. You should have been allowed to stay home in bed today. I’ll tell that husband of yours just that.”
“Oh, please, no,” begged Rebecca. “Don’t spoil his pleasure, and please don’t tell him that I was sick.”
Roseanna made no reply but guided the girl back to the table. She had just opened her mouth to speak to Tristan when she caught Rebecca’s imploring expression, which seemed to clearly say, “Please don’t anger him or I shall suffer.” So she said to Tristan, “I need Rebecca to go upstairs for me to see that all is in readiness in the bridal chamber. You don’t mind if she goes up now, do you?”
“I shall claim forfeit for your first dance,” he bartered.
Roseanna turned to Rebecca and whispered, “Go up to bed, love. I’ll take care of Tristan.”
The air was filled with the notes of fiddles and flutes as the trestle tables were being stacked to make room for dancing. When Tristan closed in the dance with Roseanna, he whispered, “I know your secret!”
She arched a brow at him.
“You have a soft heart.”
“And how do you know that?” she challenged.
“You were being kind to Rebecca. What you don’t realize is that she makes herself sick on purpose.”
“What an outrageous thing to say! You don’t know your wife very well.”
“On the contrary, I’ve studied her behavior at my leisure. When you went to the garderobe she vomited didn’t she?”
Roseanna nodded reluctantly.
“What she didn’t let you know was that she stuck her finger down her throat to get rid of the food.”
“Why would she do a thing like that?”
Tristan shrugged, “She’s obsessed that she will become fat!”
